HANKOW.
C.O.
298
RECP
7229
December 1966.
his actual reason for coming to Hupei, and has the
loan been sanctioned by the Board of Communications?
I hope you will give me a full explanation, but to-
morrow I really cannot receive visitors and I must
still ask Mr. Bland to first interview the Customs
Taotai and, if there should be anything of very great
importance to tell me, please ask him to delay his
departure a day or two when I will await the honour
of a visit.
I have &c.,
Card of Chang Chin-tung.
Your Excellency:-
In reply to your note regarding Mr. Bland,
I have the honour to transmit herewith for your infor-
mation the following Memorandum drawn up by that gen-
tleman:-
"It should be explained that owing to a mis-
take committed by the writer (?) at the French Consu-
late Monsieur Casenave has been referred to as repre-
senting the Banque de l'Indo-Chine, whereas, as a mat-
ter of fact, in the business which it is now proposed
to discuss with His Excellency, he is acting with Mr.
Bland in representing the British and Chinese Corpora-
tion, an English Company, whereof the executive con-
trol is British and which proposes to finance and con-
struct Chinese railways by loans issued in London.
It should also be explained that the association of
French capital in this business (for which the Cor-
poration is and must remain solely responsible) is the
result of internal and purely financial arrangements
made by the Corporation with a certain powerful French
banking-house